On the Mountaintop
by Aj the Psychic
Summary: I could see Mt. Silver ahead in the distance, and I could feel the air becoming colder as I tread onwards, but I still had a ways to go. Time passed, and the air grew colder still. Snow began to appear before my feet as I travelled, growing in mass as I drew ever closer to the mountain. *Crunch...Crunch...Crunch...*


**AN: **I am very well aware that this one-shot may be inaccurate in that I have not read the actual manga that Red is in. I mostly went off of my own imagination. Enjoy it if you can! And tell me what you think. ^_^

I do not own Pokemon, just some of the games. Don't sue me..

* * *

*crunch...*

*crunch...*

*crunch...*

Mt. Silver loomed prodigiously in front of me, snow-capped and with even more crystalline flakes of ice nearly invisible to the naked eye slowly adding to the white mass. I shivered, slightly regretting my decision to bring no more than my vest to keep me warm in this frigid weather. I kept moving forward despite my arms as they became infested with goosebumps; they were the only part of my body other than my face not adequately covered.

As I walked, the snow beneath my feet gave just a little bit with each step leaving a trail of white footprints in my wake. Still intent on reaching my destination, I continued in earnest towards the mouth of the cave leading into the mountain.

The cave was a lot less inviting than the outside world, even when taking into account the fact that it was considerably warmer than where the snow blanketed the earth behind me. I shivered again. This time not from the cold, but from a strange and ominous feeling that convinced the goosebumps to continue plaguing my arms. This place was unknown to me, then. Still, I was here for a reason, and I would not be daunted by chills of any sort. I continued my trek forward through the cave, reminiscing about my past experiences as I went.

I was only ten years old when I started my journey; I was a normal kid. "Normal" meaning that I was more or less the same as everyone else. I was also normal in the sense that I wanted to be _different_. I wanted to stand out, to excel, to stake my own claim among the legends of the world.

I grinned in spite of myself. How many times had I arrogantly challenged a much stronger opponent than I, only to get my rear-end handed to me in no time flat? There was a time when I thought I could take on any opponent; I used to be so naive. I kind of missed those days, back when everything seemed so cut and dry. Then, there was only black and white. I had changed so much since then, and I became wiser through all my experiences.

I remembered my first run-in with organized crime. No, I was not involved in the sense that I was committing crime, I was out-right opposing it head on. I remember finally taking down the leader of the Rocket organization, Giovanni. After so much searching and fighting, there was peace throughout the region. Peace...Yes. Peace is what I sought. In fact I was still seeking it. That's why I was there, at Mt. Silver.

I remember traveling to the Indigo Plateau, after collecting all of Kanto's gym badges of course, to challenge their Pokemon League. Victory Road was extremely harsh, and it took me several months to finally emerge from the mouth of the cave exit just outside the immense doors of the Pokemon League. I challenged the League, and won. I beat the Elite Four; I overpowered the champion of the Kanto region. I was even offered to take his place as reigning champ, but I was still restless as a trainer, eager for more, so I declined. Instead, I travelled to Johto, defeating one gym in the circuit after another. The Johto League proved just as difficult as the Kanto League, but I defeated the Elite Four and champion there as well. Again I declined the position of champion. This pattern I had developed continued on through the Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova leagues as I defeated the most powerful trainers and the champion in their respective regions. Each time I was offered the champion's chair, and each time I refused. Not out of arrogance, I had long since shed such naive behaviors, I was simply not finished with my search for...what was it? Oh yeah, peace.

My thoughts were interrupted by an encounter with a wild Graveler, I frowned. I walked in a wide arc around it in an attempt to evade the pokemon's attention, but fate wouldn't have it that way; the Graveler turned and stalked over to where I was. It stood directly in front of me, barring my way forward through the cave. I sent out my partner, Pikachu.

"Iron Tail," I ordered nonchalantly.

Pikachu let out his signature "Pika!" and the move struck true, right into the opposing Graveler's rugged face. The wild pokemon was successfully K.O.'d. I returned my pokemon to his pokeball with a murmured thanks and continued on my path towards the summit.

Despite the encounter with the wild Graveler, I resumed thinking back on my past experiences. One of the most prominent being the last time I had visited my mother. I didn't stay long, much to her disappointment and sorrow. I hardly ever saw my mother anymore. Sure, I called her up to talk to her over my cell phone every once in a while, but even those conversations were short-lived and consisted almost exclusively of small talk. Don't get me wrong, I loved my mother and I still do, but where I was going there would be virtually no way to contact her. I figured it would be easier for her to accept my absence if we were no longer close. Still, I sometimes felt as though I had betrayed her in a big way, but I couldn't allow myself to worry about that. Worry leads to regret and regret leads to inaction. What I was doing required action on my part.

I thought about my past relationships; I never really dated or had a sweetheart. Of course this was a little bit disappointing, but it was difficult to maintain a steady relationship, even with casual friends, when one was traveling. Well, that's what I had told myself.

Still musing to myself about what could have been, the exit of the cave revealed itself as I continued down the rugged trail made by pokemon coming in and going out of the cavern. I steeled myself, ready for whatever it was that I'd find.

White...

Endless white...

I stepped through the gaping mouth of the Mt. Silver cave, and immediately the cold combated with my body once again; the goosebumps, who had been courteous enough to leave me alone once I was well inside the mountain, came back in full force. A newer sensation, that of a very cold and increasingly stuffy nose, joined the goosebumps in an effort to make me feel very uncomfortable. Despite these bodily weaknesses, I observed that the sky was almost completely obscured by grey cirrocumulus clouds and the gentle falling of beautiful snow. No patch of ground was uncovered by the pure white of the frozen water, it was absolutely gorgeous. There was something different about the top of the mountain, though. Aside from the cold that I could discern my body was developing, there was another feeling. It was something I hadn't really felt before, not that I recognized anyway.

It was...wonderful.

I felt like...this was right.

Was this...peace...?

Enthralled, I resolved to stay there. Time had no meaning in this seemingly sacred place. The freezing weather that presented itself in the form of snow and ice no longer chilled my bones, no longer nipped at my skin. I felt, of all things, warm; my cold never again plagued me. I had found it, the place I had been searching for all these years. I was finally there. Finally...I had peace. Finally, I had found a place where no one would find me, where no one would disturb me and my state of perpetual calm. No longer would my team have to be troubled with the idea of fighting. No longer would the cares of the world concern us. No longer would I feel the need to search for a purpose. No longer did I feel the need to even _speak_. There was no longer a need for any of that.

I was home.


End file.
